BA's Midseason Draft Top 50 List

[Jaypers]

Midseason Update: 2013 Draft Top 50
April 4, 2013 by Conor Glassey


With the 2013 draft just over two months away, here is an updated look at the top 50 prospects. There have been a lot a lot of early risers, since we did our last Top 50 in February, most notably three college righthanders—Jonathan Gray from Oklahoma, Braden Shipley from Nevada, and Chris Anderson from Jacksonville.

On the high school side, catcher Nick Ciuffo from Lexington (S.C.) High and third baseman Ryan McMahon from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif., boosted their draft stock at USA Baseball’s 2013 National High School Invitational.

But this draft seems unique in that the consensus top guys seems to start fraying sooner than usual. There are also differing opinions on the talent level of this class. While most agree that it’s a little lighter at the top than most years, some have said it’s the worst overall class they’ve seen in the last 10 years, while others say they like the depth, particularly on the high school side.

After talking with several scouting directors and crosscheckers, here is how the Top 50 prospects in the country stack up as they enter the home stretch.

RK. PREV. NAME POS. SCHOOL READ
1 1 Mark Appel RHP Stanford Appel Dominates, But Stanford Comes Up Short
2 NR Jonathan Gray RHP Oklahoma Draft Tracker: March 13
3 4 Clint Frazier OF Loganville (Ga.) HS Home Runs Give Frazier Advantage In Georgia High School Showdown
4 3 Austin Meadows OF Grayson HS, Loganville, Ga. Meadows And Frazier Both Have Premium Tools
5 18 Kohl Stewart RHP St. Pius X HS, Houston 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
6 2 Sean Manaea LHP Indiana State 2012 Cape Cod League Top 30 Prospects
7 12 Kris Bryant OF San Diego 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Top 20 Prospects
8 14 Reese McGuire C Kentwood HS, Covington, Wash. Big-Game McGuire Mixes Tools With Plus Makeup
9 6 Colin Moran 3B North Carolina Triangle Rivalry Takes On National Scope
10 NR Braden Shipley RHP Nevada Draft Tracker: Feb. 27
11 NR Chris Anderson RHP Jacksonville Draft Tracker: Feb. 27
12 9 J.P. Crawford SS Lakewood (Calif.) HS J.P. Crawford Stands Out At Jesse Flores Memorial Game
13 20 D.J. Peterson 3B/1B New Mexico 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Top 20 Prospects
14 7 Jonathan Denney C Yukon (Okla.) HS 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
15 8 Dominic Smith 1B Serra HS, Gardena, Calif. 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
16 13 Trey Ball OF/LHP New Castle (Ind.) HS 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
17 28 Ian Clarkin LHP Madison HS, San Diego Arms Emerge In Southern California Invitational
18 5 Ryne Stanek RHP Arkansas 2013 Preseason College All-America Team With Analysis
19 15 Phillip Ervin OF Samford High School Rivals Ervin, Irby Power Samford
20 NR Nick Ciuffo C Lexington (S.C.) HS 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
21 NR Hunter Harvey RHP Bandys HS, Catawba, N.C. Game Report: Hunter Harvey
22 24 Ryan Boldt OF Red Wing (Minn.) HS Boldt Shows Sweet Stroke At Tournament Of Stars
23 49 Billy McKinney OF Plano (Texas) West HS McKinney Finds Groove Early
24 22 Marco Gonzales LHP Gonzaga Gonzales Starts Prospect Classic Off Right
25 40 Michael Lorenzen RHP/OF Cal State Fullerton 2013 Preseason College All-America Team With Analysis
26 25 Rob Kaminsky LHP St. Joseph HS, Montvale, N.J. 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
27 10 Jonathon Crawford RHP Florida 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Top 20 Prospects
28 16 Bobby Wahl RHP Mississippi 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Top 20 Prospects
29 NR Matt Krook LHP St. Ignatius HS, San Francisco Draft Tracker: March 13
30 19 Oscar Mercado SS Gaither HS, Tampa Mercado Keeps Conquering New Challenges
31 32 Ryan Eades RHP Louisiana State Weekend Preview: March 15-17
32 NR Hunter Renfroe OF Mississippi State Bulldogs Benefit For Waiting On Renfroe
33 11 Austin Wilson OF Stanford Stanford’s Austin Wilson To Miss Another 2-4 Weeks
34 21 Aaron Judge OF Fresno State Scouts Wanting Power Can Tell It To The Judge
35 NR Ryan McMahon 3B Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, Calif. Mater Dei Third Baseman Ryan McMahon Flashes The Leather
36 NR Tim Anderson SS East Central (Miss.) CC Draft Tracker: March 27
37 33 Garrett Williams LHP Calvary Baptist HS, Shreveport, La. 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
38 41 Tom Windle LHP Minnesota Windle Gives Gophers An Ace
39 36 Rowdy Tellez 1B Elk Grove (Calif.) HS 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
40 30 Eric Jagielo 3B Notre Dame Jagielo, Slania Lead Hungry Irish
41 NR Chad Pinder 3B Virginia Tech Pinder Makes Mark As Potential First Rounder
42 NR Josh Hart OF Parkview HS, Lilburn, Ga. 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 26-50
43 37 Cavan Biggio 2B St. Thomas HS, Houston 2013 HS Scouting Reports: 1-25
44 NR Dustin Peterson 3B Gilbert (Ariz.) HS Three Shortstops Boost Stock At World Wood Bat
45 NR Hunter Dozier SS Stephen F. Austin State 2011 Texas Collegiate League Top 10 Prospects
46 NR Aaron Blair RHP Marshall Aaron Blair Carries Cape Success Into 2013
47 NR Kyle Serrano RHP Farragut (Tenn.) HS Young Serrano Transitions With His Father
48 43 Cord Sandberg OF Manatee HS, Bradenton, Fla. Looking Ahead: Cord Sandberg
49 31 Travis Demeritte 3B Winder-Barrow HS, Winder, Ga. East Cobb Baseball Wins World Wood Bat Championship
50 NR Connor Jones RHP Great Bridge HS, Chesapeake, Va. Hurricane Sandy Can’t Deter Connor Jones

 

[bear0555]

surprised to see mcguire over denney. law mentioned denney was the clear top catcher.

appel gray race will be good next 2 months.

 

[VandyDan]

Hard to fathom Ziomek not being on the list.

I'd presume Sheffield being off it is based on a fear of the worst. FWIW, he has been playing in the field since his arm tightness. I still think he's a late 20s/Supp round pick.

 

[Jaypers]

Hard to fathom Ziomek not being on the list.

I'd presume Sheffield being off it is based on a fear of the worst. FWIW, he has been playing in the field since his arm tightness. I still think he's a late 20s/Supp round pick.

I decided to tweet Glassey about those two guys. Will lyk if he replies.

 

[VandyDan]

I mean, Ziomek has had some statistical reversion to the mean (me and a friend do advanced stats of the VU team, and I could have told you that his .74ERA was not going to last--he had a strand rate of almost 90% through 6 starts). So perhaps this is expected. I still think he is at least as good a prospect as was Mike Minor, and potentially better. I would wager that Glassey's response on that will be something of the following "rough outing against Florida, doesn't have premier stuff, teams like velocity". I'll grant the former but deny the latter. Z's control and breaking stuff is premier.

As for JS, I dunno, I just don't see how you can go from being a top 7 guy with arguably the best HS velocity and hammer curve to out of the Top 50 just because of a potential injury. Teams seem to be less scared of injuries among HS guys, especially since their clock is about 4-5 years anyway. Plus he has a pretty high level bat and is playing IF/OF right now so he can clearly throw the ball.

 

[Jaypers]

I asked if Sheffield's injury played a part in his omission:

@conorglassey yes on Sheffield, plus we were rich to begin with. Ziomek was close.